Future's Dawn
by Raekal
Summary: Tar Valon, on the brink of deafeat, faces an army not seen since the days of the Aiel War. Can the battered Aes Sedai and their Warders possibly win the day? R&R!
1. Default Chapter

Tar Valon, the shining city. The city that was supposed to rule the world, with the power centered in it. That power, that ruling power, was the Aes Sedai and their Warders. The people that could make kings dance and queens bow. A young man, held by the ideals, could easily be seduced by this city, as could a young woman with nothing else to loose, or one drawn by the Power itself. The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills. Raekal was one such young man. He had been born in Caemlyn while his family was on the move to Shienar from Illian. His mother had stayed while his father had gone on ahead to settle into their new home. He was supposed to of sent back for them once the house was ready for her and his son. But he never had.  
When Raekal turned five, she decided that five years was much too long of a time, and she and him left for Shienar. They went to where the house was supposed to of been. Nothing was there. All was gone, lost . . . all that remained was a few rocks and a low wall that ran for about twenty feet and terminated in a hillside. Raekal was still too young to understand why his mother broke down then . . . he couldn't comprehend the possibilities of death. He couldn't possibly understand that his father whom he had never known was forever gone, forever dead. His mother took him to the local village and left him there under the care of a kind young lady named Alaine. She had raised him as her own from then on. His mother went out into the countryside to search for his father, but had never returned. Raekal started learning the art of the sword from Alaine's husband, a renowned blade master, and was soon as graceful with a blade as any of the men in the village, and he was only sixteen.  
Being in Shienar however, carried it's own dangers, especially being as close to the Border as they were. One night Trollocs raided their village. Alaine fought with her husband and Raekal, but the numbers attacking were too great. The Trollocs overwhelmed the defenses, and the defenders themselves were scattered. Raekal was separated from both Alaine and his "dad" and ran on his own back to the next village. There he found Alaine, injured but alive, and the story of how his "dad" had fallen and been lost. The village formed a small militia group to fight the Trollocs that came pouring towards them. However, the numbers were still too great and this village also went up in flames while some determined men continued the fight. Raekal was one of them, trying to buy more time for Alaine and the rest to flee. Raekal helped another man in the defense group fight and kill the leading Fade, and the Trolloc army fell apart and retreated for the time. Several died.  
Still running, still fleeing, the survivors fled back to the army coming up to defend against the invasion. Raekal joined in a heartbeat, and marched back into battle again to defense his home. The battle against the reformed, reinforced Trolloc horde was hard, long, and extremely bloody. In the end, the Trollocs were defeated and pushed back into the Blight. Raekal left the army to travel south, to Tar Valon. He had nothing left to live for. Nothing. The Trollocs had destroyed his home, his family, and now he was running from them again. To Tar Valon. To hope . . . to a possible future.  
  
Raekal looked up at the great shining white walls of Tar Valon in awe. He had never seen anything like it, anything even remotely similar. He walked towards the walls across one of the great bridges. A train of people moving in both directions paid no heed to one man walking alone across the bridge with all he had in the world slung on his back. His clothes were filthy, his hair matted and uncombed. He was growing a nasty looking beard. His cloak was travel stained and ragged. His purse was empty. His sword hanging on his side was beginning to rust now and in desperate need of a new hilt and a good polishing. He stumbled, not paying any attention to his footing, and almost fell. He caught his balance and resumed the long walk across the bridge. He reached into his bag and pulled out a moldy piece of cheese. Picking off the mold and casting it over the edge into the river, he but into it. It was starting to go bad . . . but beggars couldn't be choosers. He entered the city and went straight towards the Tower. His last hope to stay alive was to become a warder. To become involved with Aes Sedai. He frowned.  
"Hey! You!" someone shouted. Raekal turned to see three men approaching him. They looked worse than he did, if that was possible.  
"Me?" Raekal asked, wondering what they could possibly want.  
"Yeah. Hand over that sword. I bet I could get a pretty penny for that."  
Raekal looked at the sword on his hip. "This?" He pulled the blade up out of the sheath and examined it. "I doubt it."  
"I don't. Come on, hand it over. We don't want to cause a scene, now do we?"  
Raekal spun the blade expertly and flipped it into the air. Without looking, he caught the hilt in his right hand. The move attracted a few eyes. "I'm rather attached to this sword. I'd rather not part with it, and I doubt you can take it from me." He sheathed it and turned his back on the men. They seemed smart enough for the moment, and left him in peace.  
He continued on till he came to the Tower itself. Night was getting close, and people were being turned away from the gates. He cursed. Another night under the stars, most likely in an alley somewhere. "Blood and ashes, the Light has almost surely forsaken me now," Raekal muttered as he turned back to try to find a suitable place to unroll his ragged blanket.  
Night fell quickly and with it brought relief from the intense midsummer heat. He stretched out in a garden, on the cropped grass, and rolled up in his blanket. He didn't sleep, not yet, and so he heard the footsteps drawing nearer. He sat up and saw two men wearing swords and short brown cloaks walk past, laughing. He lay back. Most likely Tower Guards . . . men able to bond but unbonded to the current moment. He sighed. Soon enough, he would be one himself.  
Minutes later, he heard more footsteps and looked up again. This time it was those three from earlier, and they knew where he was. "Again? Blood and ashes!" He stood slowly as they drew nearer. "Still want my sword?" he asked, and the leader, the man who had spoken before, narrowed his eyes, only just visible in the flickering torchlight that dimly lit the garden.  
"Yeah. And this time, you will either give it to me, or I will take it from your lifeless hands. Is a sword really worth that much to you?"  
Raekal shrugged. "This one is." With that he drew it again. The silver blade shone in the dim light, but the three looked undaunted as they drew their own blades, of a remarkably lesser value than his own. He smiled. Too easy. There was only three.  
"Take him!" the leader exclaimed, and the three came forward at once. In a flash, Raekal spun on one heel, his other foot lifting as the sword clanged off on blade. The man staggered as Raekal's kick embedded itself in his stomach and he fell backwards, out of breath. As that foot touched ground, Raekal was spinning, his other foot flying through the air, connecting to the second's jaw. An audible crack was heard through the still night air, and the man dropped like a sack of potatoes. The third managed to lock blades with Raekal and for a split second they were face to face. "Tonight you die," Raekal said, and spun back, his blade sliding off of the others. He came after him as the first came back at Raekal.  
The first wasn't nearly as good as the third and swung wildly at Raekal. He ducked under the slash and as he stood, he used one of the few swordforms that he knew an official name for. Tower of the Morning. The man was opened from navel to jaw and flew backwards and crashed to the ground, never to rise again. The first roared inaudibly and charged forwards, thrusting his sword at Raekal's heart. Raekal twisted to the side and brought his blade down on the others. Not only did the man loose feeling in his hands, the hilt slipped to the ground as the blade itself disintegrated under the blow. He gasped and held his hands up as Raekal pointed his sword at the man's throat. "Shall I take your life now as well? You surely tried to take mine." The man shook his head, still in shock at what had happened to his blade.  
"Hey! What's going on over there?" a shout came, and Raekal looked up to see those two Guards come running. He grimaced, but when they arrived, they said nothing about Raekal himself. "You! Attacking this man unprovoked! You should be sent to the prisons!"  
The man looked between the two dumbly. "He's the one who done murder here!"  
The first guard stepped up. "He was defending himself. We were watching you."  
Raekal nodded. Of course, warders in training would watch for anything suspicious. He sheathed his sword. "I suggest you leave and help your friends here too. Do that and we won't call the patrol," the second said, and the man helped the injured one to his feet, and they each grabbed an arm and dragged the dead man away. The two guards turned back to face him. "You alright?" the second asked.  
"Yeah, I'm fine." He straightened. "You didn't need to do that. I could have killed them all myself and been rid of them."  
The first laughed. "We weren't interfering for your sake. We were for theirs." He looked back at the retreating pair. "What brings you to Tar Valon?"  
"The Tower," Raekal said simply.  
"Ah . . . looking to be a Warder, huh? Well, with those skills you got that won't present much a problem!" the second laughed as well.  
Raekal looked at them. "You are Guards, right?" They both nodded. "My name is Raekal Dunshain. I would appreciate it if you took me to see the Master at Arms."  
The first nodded. "Of course, first thing in the morning. We'll get you set up with a room, new clothes, and a new blade, if you so desire. Your training will start immediately too, but by the way you performed some of those forms, I wouldn't say you needed very much of it." He grinned broadly. "My name's Ren, by the way, and this is Korl. We both plan to bond greens soon. Should be interesting." His grin grew.  
Raekal smiled for the first time in Light-knew how long. He liked these two. They were like him. Ready, waiting for the next battle against the Shadowspawn. "In the morning huh? What do you have planned for tonight?"  
Korl grinned. "Well, we were going to see the local girls and make sure they were all doing all right, but since that doesn't seem to be happening anymore, perhaps we'll take ya back up to the Barracks and introduce ya to some people."  
Raekal brightened. "Any chance of a hot bath? And a shave? I could use one badly." He rubbed his whiskery chin and cheeks. "Seems like forever since I've had a good hot meal too." It had been quite some time. For the last few weeks he had been on the road, surviving off of stale bread and moldy cheese or whatever some kind traveler would share, or when he would get lucky and find himself a rabbit or two.  
Ren laughed. "Yeah, you can use my room for that. I'll have the tub filled with good hot water for you. SO you can look better for your presentation to the Master at Arms tomorrow."  
  
Raekal lowered himself gingerly into the hot water and couldn't hold back the sigh that seemed to explode from him. He could literally feel the dirt and grime of days of unwashed travel lifting off of him. He dunked his head, and grabbed some soap and lathered his hair up good before dunking again. It had been ages since he had had clean hair. Ren came in with a pair of scissors and went to work on his long, ragged hair, trimming it nice and shorter and even for him. Then he left and pointed Raekal to his razor and stuff on the basin table.  
After a relaxing soak, Raekal climbed out of the tub. A layer of dirt lay at the bottom. He wrinkled his nose at it. He had needed a washing. Even he could smell the difference. He shaved quickly, and looked at his hard face in the mirror. His hair was straight and brown, and now hung around his face in an orderly, groomed fashion. It came to the bottom of his ears all the way around, and on the back of his neck the hair was shaved short to match the cut. His eyes were a smoky blue, not bright, but not dim, and unclouded. He had sharp features and looked like a warder already. He blinked at himself and dressed in the new clothes that Ren had laid out for him. After finishing up, he made his way out to the main room. Four Guards were gathered now, sitting around, waiting for Raekal to appear. Korl whistled.  
"Sure looks better than he did when we sent him in there!"  
"That's for sure," Ren added. "How do you feel now?"  
"Excellent," Raekal said, and sniffed. He could smell beef. How long had it been since he had had fresh beef? His mouth instantly began to water.  
"Dinner's on its way," Korl said, seemingly just understanding Raekal's thoughts. "We knew you'd like some good meat," he added with a grin.  
Raekal spent the rest of the night eating and talking and, for once in his life, laughing. 


	2. Chapter 2

Raekal walked down the path to the Master at Arms office with a slight bounce to his step. His sword was strapped against his back, and Korl and Ren flanking him as they escorted him in. As they entered the man's office, he looked up in surprise at the three. "Hello, Korl, Ren," he said, nodding to them each in turn. They bowed their heads back, and Raekal followed their example. He smiled at the man and introduced himself.  
"Sir, my name is Raekal Dunshain. I come down from the Borderlands, and I was looking for acceptance into the Tower to be trained as a Warder." He said it all in a rush, blurting it all rather quickly out, and wanted to wince. Some first good impression that was.  
However, the Master at Arms grinned. "Of course, but, if you don't mind, may I take a look at your blade? It seems a part of you, but the hilt looks rather . . . unkept." Raekal handed over the sword, and he pulled the rusting blade from the sheath and winced. "You do not have the necessary tools for up keeping a blade of this caliber, do you?" Raekal shook his head, looking down. "Well, not to worry. Our smiths can restore this blade in no time and we can get you those tools. You do know what the blade is, don't you?"  
Raekal shrugged. "My . . . father told me it used to belong to kings."  
Korl looked at him in surprise, but said nothing. To Raekal. "He can use it too, sir. We saw him last night. He laid a man open from navel to jaw, and broke another's sword."  
The Master at Arms grunted. "Many men can wield a blade when they come from the Borderlands." He looked over the sword again. "Your father told the truth, lad. This sword did belong to kings, at one time." He looked up for a moment, and muttered, to himself, "He really doesn't know . . ." Then shook his head. "My name is Archer, by the way. You can call me Archer Gaidin." He smiled, and laid the sword on his desk, then grabbed on from behind him and tossed it to Raekal. "In the mean time, I want to see how good you are with a sword in your hands."  
Raekal smiled. "Of course, Archer Gaidin." He followed him out into the Yards, Korl and Ren following closely. The word seemed to spread like invisible fire, and before the two were done even warming up there was a ring of men leaning on practice lathes watching them. Raekal removed his shirt and stretched out good, then assumed his stance, sword sheathed, one hand hovering over the hilt, slightly turned so the sword faced away from his opponent. Archer stepped into a high guard, the sword held above his head. Ren dropped a white piece of cloth, and the fight began.  
Raekal had not grown up learning to fight in sword forms. He had learned to fight by watching the opponent's blade and keeping his own in front of it no matter how it moved. He had a natural talent for reading fakes and throw-offs, so he was rarely caught by one. As Archer's sword blazed down at him, he spun to the right, drawing the sword in a smooth sweeping motion, and blocking the blade as it came at his side, not his head. Archer grunted in approval, and attacked again, moving through his forms like a graceful swimmer. Raekal backed up a step blocked his next stoke, and the third. He flowed as well, with a deadly lithe grace that had some men muttering "half man."  
It was true . . . Raekal had learned how to fight from watching Fades fight. He had learned how to move my mimicking them, and now not a single movement ever seemed to disturb him. Even the wind seemed to loose its effect when he moved in a fight.  
Archer attacked again and again, but every time Raekal blocked without effort, merely pivoting to put his sword in one place or the other, every time giving Archer a small grin as he stopped his blade again and again. Soon, Archer began to get frustrated, and he began to loose his fluidity as he moved against Raekal. Raekal still hadn't attacked, just defended, but seemed to take this as a sign that it was time to. In the blink of an eye, Archer went from offensive to defensive, backing away as Raekal spun, sliced, and stabbed at him, not giving him a moment's respite.  
  
The end came quickly. Raekal spun inside the reach of Archer's sword. Too close for effective use. Archer tried to kick away, but Raekal reversed his move and instead Archer crashed to the ground. Raekal stood over him, casually kicking his sword away with one foot. "I think I win." It was a simple statement, but it completely silenced the Yards. The only sound to be heard was the clanging of the smiths' hammers in the distance, and the rumble of the usual town noise outside the walls. Raekal glanced around. Everyone was staring at him like he was the Dark One himself, but Archer rumbled a laugh as he pulled himself to his feet.  
"Lad, you are definitely the first man to beat me in these Yards." He dusted himself off. "How did you learn to fight like that? That was . . . amazing. Simply amazing." He shook his head as if in disbelief.  
Raekal shrugged, suddenly very uncomfortable. "I fought several battles during the invasion," he said softly. "I've killed more Trollocs than I can count. I've fought five or so Fades. Killed every one."  
There was a collective intake of breath, but this time it was with an impressed air. Archer shook his head again. "Welcome to the Tower! But . . . I think you need no training." He laughed. "Impressive. Very."  
  
The next day, Korl and Ren took him up to the Tower. "You don't know anything about Aes Sedai," Korl said, in disbelief. "You've killed more Shadowspawn than any man alive, but you know nothing about them."  
Raekal shook his head. "Nope. Natta. Nothin."  
Ren laughed and clapped his shoulder. "You are full of surprises, my friend." He laughed. "Well, there are several Ajahs, seven of them. Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Gray, Brown, and White. Each Ajah has a different belief. Like the Reds, for example, hate men. Especially those that can channel, but the ones that can't channel they hate too, so don't even try to get cozy with one of them."  
Korl continued as they walked up the steps. "The Greens are called the Battle Ajah. They're preparing for battle against the Dark One at Tarmon Gaidon. They like men . . . they like men very much." He laughed. "Yellows heal; they're the healers and doctors of the Tower. Whites are logical, they think about things all the time. Blues are like a pleasant mixture of everything, almost. I'd almost call them politicians. And Grays study. And study. And study some more. They're obsessed with studying everything that they can, and Browns like to read and study to." He laughed again. "The Tower is full of politics. You've of the Game of Houses in Cairhein? Multiple it by three and you've got one of the Ajahs."  
Raekal shook hi head as they entered the Tower at long last. Two Aes Sedai looked up sharply. One's face softened an inch. "Korl, Ren. You two better not be up to trouble this time."  
Korl winked at her. "No ma'am. Just showing a new Gaidin that just got accepted around. He needs to meet a few Aes Sedai."  
She nodded, her face hardened again already. Raekal didn't like the ageless serene face she had on. "Okay, but keep away from our Novices this time, eh?"  
Ren pushed them past the two and into the depths of the Tower. "First, we'll take you by Elayne. She's a pretty young thing that just got herself raised to Aes Sedai. She's Green, but she won't let men even talk about bonding around her." His face let up with an evil smile. "She says she wants to fall in love with the man she bonds."  
Raekal nodded. An honorable goal, he thought. They rounded a couple corners and almost ran smack into a young-looking lady in a beautiful clinging green gown. Raekal smiled at her first, and, surprised, she returned the smile. Korl and Ren both bowed their heads, and Ren kicked Raekal for him to follow suit. "Elayne Sedai," both muttered, and Raekal muttered it even quieter afterwards.  
"Gaidin," she acknowledged. "May I ask why there are three of you wandering the halls of the White Tower? Aren't there enough Recruits to be teaching?"  
Ren blushed, but Korl said, "Elayne Sedai, we would like to introduce you to Raekal, um, Gaidin." Raekal blinked. It was the first time anyone had called him that, and it took him completely by surprise.  
Elayne nodded at him. "Raekal Gaidin."  
"He's new to the Tower. He was just accepted this morning by the Master at Arms," Korl continued, and Raekal tore his eyes from her beautiful face, framed by her lovely dark curls.  
"Is that so?" she asked. "Well, congratulations, Gaidin. Although, if you don't mind me asking, how were you raised so fast?"  
"I-" Raekal began, but was cut off by Ren.  
"He beat Archer in a spar. Only man to ever do so."  
She glanced at Ren. "Oh, and can he not speak for himself?"  
They both blushed, but Raekal looked back at her. "I can, um, Elayne Sedai."  
She smiled, taking them all by surprise. "Well, that's good. I was beginning to worry. Come, tell me about yourself. Why don't you two scamper along and find a Novice to torture?" Their eyes lit up. "No, don't actually find a Novice. Go teach a class or something." They moped off, but not before shooting Raekal victory glances. He was afraid to know what they were thinking. He looked back at Elayne and smiled again.  
"What would you like to know about me, Elayne, um, Sedai?" He still staggered over the official title, but it was already beginning to come easier, slip out more smoothly.  
"Where are you from, for one," she said, and began to walk again, him falling into step next to her.  
"I'm from the Borderlands. Shienar." He hesitated. "Well, not originally. I was born in Caemlyn. But we moved up to Shienar when I was five. My mom and I, that is. To find my father, but we couldn't find him. My mom dumped me off with another family. I've never seen her since."  
She paused for a moment. "What did you say your last name was again?"  
"Raekal. Raekal Dunshain."  
She nodded. "I thought so. So you came to the Tower for the claim, right?"  
"Claim? No, I came because I had nothing left in the world, and I wanted to learn more about the world. Become a Warder. Maybe learn some things." He stopped in thought for a moment. "What claim do you speak of?"  
"You don't know, do you?" she asked, and he remembered Archer saying something very similar.  
"Know what?"  
Elayne was not one for sugarcoating things, obviously. "That the Tower has been hunting you since you left Caemlyn. That you are a very important man."  
He blinked. "I'm what? Me? I've been hunted? I haven't been hiding . . ."  
She shook her head. "You may not of been, but your mother was running and hiding. She didn't like us 'Tar Valon witches' getting anywhere near her heir."  
"Heir?"  
She shook her head. "I've already said far too much. Look, the Amyrlin, if she doesn't already know you're here, will want to speak with you. Follow me, and please, do not over react to anything she says."  
"Over react? I'm still not sure what you're talking about!"  
"Just don't explode on her or anything. I wouldn't her to hurt you or anything."  
"Hurt me?" he was beginning to get worried. "What . . . what's going on? Yesterday I was a poor bum on the street, today I've been hunted for years by the White Tower! Light! Tell me, what is going on here?"  
Elayne stopped and turned to look at him. "You are one of the most important people in the world right now. Well. Maybe not in the world, but in the eyes of the Tower, you are very important. You, Raekal Dunshain, are the heir to the throne of Manetheren."  
He staggered. Manetheren? Tales told about the legendary country, long dead and long forgotten, the line shattered by Shadowspawn and every thing to do with it shattered. He felt light headed and weak, and if Elayne hadn't caught him, he would have fallen to the floor.  
"It has been foretold that Manetheren will be brought back from beyond the grave in our lifetimes, but that very difficult times will accompany it's returning. The Dark One has no love for Manetheren, and therefore no love for you. He wants you dead."  
"The invasion," he muttered.  
"Was aimed at you, most likely. We've all been blind. Come, we must get you before the Amyrlin." He shook his head. "Come. You cannot refuse the Amyrlin a meeting that she desires. She would have you thrown in prison . . . or worse." She hesitated. "I want you to be my Warder someday. I would not like it if you got thrown in prison first."  
He felt light headed all over again. Now he was being asked to bond already. By someone he hardly knew! Light! This was insane! He felt the sudden urge to run, to get away from her and the whole Tower, from the Light blinded Aes Sedai. To get away. Very far away. 


	3. Chapter 3

Raekal found himself outside of the Amyrlin's office only minutes later, at the side of Elayne. He realized how little he really knew about Aes Sedai and the dealings of the White Tower. Was he supposed to bow to her? Kneel? Kiss her ring? Light, he was lost already. Elayne looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. "You have yet to master the emotionless look of a Gaidin."  
He could only nod, blinking. He feared that if he was to speak, he would loose everything he had ever eaten all over her. Swallowing hard, he looked back at the door just as it opened. "Enter," said the woman standing there, eyeing Raekal up and down.  
Elayne bowed her head as she went in, and Raekal followed her numbly, not sure what was expected of him still. The woman swept ahead of them, leading them deeper into the room. Elayne leaned over to him. "She is the Keeper, second only to the Amyrlin. Under her is the Mistress of Novices, but she shouldn't be here."  
Raekal swallowed again. Light, he was about to meet the most powerful woman in the world, and here he was, not sure what to say to even Elayne Sedai! Then he realized just what he was thinking then, thinking of an Aes Sedai as just an Aes Sedai. Shaking his head softly, he followed her into the room holding the Amyrlin Seat, seated behind her desk. The room was relatively plain, and there wasn't any real comfort to be seen. Even her chair was just a stiff-backed wooden chair. He blinked. Surely the Amyrlin would not lower herself so far . . .  
"Raekal Gaidin. Raekal Dunshain." The Amyrlin spoke clearly, firmly, and then for the first time Raekal saw Ren, standing towards the corner. He didn't meet Raekal's eyes. "You have come about your claim?"  
"I . . . I have no claim." He looked at the floor, and didn't understand why the Keeper's eyebrows rose warningly.  
"Mother!" Elayne hissed. "You call her mother."  
The Amyrlin herself didn't seem to notice, but rose from her chair smoothly, regally. "You have no claim? Of course you do. You have a very powerful claim."  
"He is the heir," Ren said suddenly. "But he doesn't know it yet, mother."  
Raekal looked sharply at Ren, and Ren made it a point to be studying his fingernails. "I have no claim to anything." The Keeper's eyebrows arched even higher. Any higher and they would vanish into her hair, he was sure. "Mother."  
The Amyrlin shook her head. "You are the heir of Manetheren, surely, you know of it." She walked around the desk, adjusting the odd shawl on her shoulders, striped with seven colors. The colors of the Ajahs, he realized with a start. How did one woman belong to all seven? "Manetheren was destroyed a long time ago, but the blood of Manetheren still flows strongly. Especially in you. Your mother was smart, taking you away from us. How sad she would be to know that you willingly walked back to us."  
He seemed to remember something she had always talked about then, about how the White Tower liked to use people for different reasons, and the plots of Aes Sedai were never to be understood. That he knew from the Aes Sedai that came to Shienar after the invasion. "I will not be used."  
Ren looked up at him in surprise, and Elayne looked at the ground, shuffling her feet softly. "Used? Boy, I would never use you. I want to help you."  
He struggled to remember what it was about Manetheren and the Tower. There had been something there, linking the two together almost as surely as chain was held together by links. The queen . . . the queen had always been Aes Sedai! "You want me to raise Manetheren so you can put an Aes Sedai on the throne of what would be my country." He spoke softly, but surely, and even Elayne was blushing now, her Aes Sedai serenity broken.  
"I would not put it as bluntly as that," the Amyrlin said sternly. "But I will admit there are many countries that would rather see the Tower leveled than anything else. It would not hurt to have some country as influential as Manetheren as an ally to the Tower."  
The Keeper shifted. "Mother, even then . . ."  
The Amyrlin nodded wearily. "Even then allying his country to the Tower would make more enemies than friends. Andor wouldn't be too happy with us, I expect. Not to mention Tear. Or Illian." She sighed.  
"You mean to throw me into the middle of politics! Into the Game of Houses! Well, I won't! I won't be used to further the Tower's influence! I came to be Gaidin, and Gaidin is what I shall be!" Raekal realized that he had shouted the last, and blushed furiously. He didn't want to be used by anyone for any scheme, no matter how noble or proper. "I shall be only what I can be. A man with a sword."  
Ren smiled slightly, just the corner of his mouth, and Elayne looked at him in surprise. The Keeper took a step back, but the Amyrlin only nodded. "I did not think you would want to be what you are. I will give you two weeks. But only two weeks! To think about everything. After the weeks are up, you will return here, and we shall speak again."  
"I will not change my mind. I will not be used." Raekal turned on his heel and walked towards the door, but the sharp exclamation from the Amyrlin brought him up short.  
"If you will not be the heir of Manetheren, then you will be removed." With that, she walked back to her chair, ignoring the stunned silence in the room, and waved at Elayne and Ren. "Be gone."  
Elayne stumbled out after Raekal, Ren on her heels. She looked at Raekal with worry in her eyes. "She just threatened to kill you if you didn't do what she wanted you to." She raised one hand to his cheek. "I would not like to see you dead. Remember that." With that, she swept off down the hall, leaving him and Ren alone in the hallway.  
Ren looked to Raekal. "Well. That was pleasant."  
Raekal ignored his comment. "Where's Korl?"  
"In the Grounds. He went to work some forms and practice with his students." He looked down at the ground. "I almost didn't believe you were who they said myself. The heir of Manetheren! Light! What that must be like."  
Raekal shot him a sharp look. "It's like learning that the food you ordered at an inn came out looking like raw sewage." He started walking, leaving Ren standing there stunned for a minute, and then he barked a laugh and jogged up to his side and fell into step with him.  
"Quite the surprise, huh?" he laughed again, and then clapped him on the shoulder. "Man, these next two weeks, I'll work the sword with you, and teach you the quarterstaff. Then you can tell her how you feel and not be afraid. There won't be a person here who could kill you."  
"Oh?" Raekal asked. He really didn't care for a word coming out of Ren's mouth. He knew how to wield his blade, and he had no interest in a quarterstaff. Right now he needed answers to his questions, but those answers could not help him either. It would help if he knew his questions. Shaking his head, he walked out of the Tower and into the Grounds, and saw Archer walking across the grounds with a man walking next to him. Korl. Blinking, he walked in their direction, Ren finally falling silent, realizing he wasn't being listened to, and following along.  
"Archer!" he called and Archer looked up at him in surprise. Probably cause he hadn't used the honorific title. Well, he had no plans of using it for anyone know, least of all the Amyrlin. "You knew." He said once he caught up, and Archer looked at the ground, anywhere but his eyes. Raekal knew they must be as cold steel. He pulled his sword out of it's sheath. The rust was gone from the blade, but the hilt was cracking. "What's so important about this blade? How did you recognize it?"  
Archer blinked and looked at the blade. "The faded heron mark, for one. And there . . . that's Old Tongue for 'ruler' there on the blade." Raekal looked over the blade, and saw the faded heron mark. He had always supposed that was just a stain in the steel. He had never seen a heron- marked blade before, and never even thought that the blade in his hands was one.  
"How many people know what I am?"  
"Probably most of the people around the Tower, now. Not to mention several others in the Borderlands, by the looks of it." Archer took the sword from him softly. "Let me have this repaired for you. I'll even have the heron-mark replaced, if I can. Who did you say gave this to you again?"  
"My father," Raekal said quietly. "Repair it, yes. I would like that." He realized with a start that he was thinking that the heir deserved a new-looking sword. Light, help me! I will not be used for these Aes Sedai's plots! He thought desperately, but turned, heading back to his quarters. "I need . . . to lie down for a while . . . perhaps sleep."  
Ren followed him to his room, and helped him out of his boots. "Sleep would be good for you. Tomorrow, we can start working. I'll introduce you to the hard life of a Gaidin." He smiled and waved as he left Raekal alone.  
Raekal immediately walked to the window and looked out, towards the Tower. Already Elayne was heavy on his thoughts. His cheek tingled at the memory of her lingering touch. "I would bond her," he said quietly to himself. The thought of being so attached to her was appealing, very much so. He lay back on his bed, and let sleep take him slowly.  
He dreamt of Manetheren, of vicious battles being fought across wide plains and rivers. He could see their banner, ever waving, never falling, and even when other banners fled the field, theirs stood strong until the rest came back, slowly. Always Manetheren had stood. And now it was to stand again, he knew that in the back on his mind. In the recesses of his mind, he knew that Manetheren was going to be raised, and that he would ride at the head of their new armies. And then, even in his dreams, he saw a black raven circling in the sky, a foul creature. He saw women fighting women with the Power, and men running by, swords clashing against swords. The Tower, white and glorious, slowly faded away to a deep red. The color of blood.  
He woke with a start, sweat-drenched and shivering with the fear that the red tower had cast into him. He shook his head to clear it, and rose to his feet slowly and walked to the window. It was dark outside, very much so. Across the table lay a new cloak, one of the fancloaks that the Warders wore. He dressed again, and pulled the new cloak around his shoulder. He felt naked without his sword on his hip, and so as he walked down the hall outside, he pulled a sword out of a stand full of them. He moved quietly down the hall and outside. Towards the Tower. He wanted to see Elayne again. He needed to ask her just how much she knew.  
He was inside the Tower before he realized that he had no idea where her rooms were. The only Aes Sedai he could see was at the end of the hall, sitting under a torch, nose in a book. He walked in her direction, and almost whipped his sword out to behead the girl that suddenly stepped out in front of them. She squeaked loudly and jumped back. She wore a white dress with the seven colors around the hem. He blinked again. Again, how could she belong to all seven Ajahs? He would have to ask Ren about that on the morrow.  
"Excuse me," she said quietly, and went to go around him.  
"Wait! You can help me," he said softly, and she looked up at him. She was older than him, he realized. By a good many years. "If you would, ma'am."  
"With what?" she replied quietly.  
"I need to find Elayne Sedai's quarters. Do you know where they are? She's Green." He hoped she didn't think him the fool. He sure sounded it.  
Instead she grinned slyly. "Ah yes. So she has finally chosen a puppy, huh?"  
"Puppy?" he echoed, but she was already walking back the way she had come.  
"This way," she said, waving over her shoulder, and he followed after her, till they cam to a door some ways away from the entrance. He hoped he would be able to find his way back out again, but he didn't know if that was even possible.  
"Thank you," he told her quietly. She responded with a wink and a wave, and was gone. He looked at the door, took a deep breath, and knocked.  
It opened close to instantly, and she was standing there, in naught but her shift, her hair hanging down. Instead of being embarrassed, or even slamming the door, she stepped back to make room for him to come in. "Raekal," she said softly, a bare whisper. "Welcome."  
He smiled at her, knowing that his cheeks were crimson. She was a lovely woman. "I . . . I had to ask you something."  
She nodded. "And I you. But go ahead, ask away."  
"Ahh . . . how much do you know of me? Of Manetheren? Am I truly the heir? Is there a chance this is a mistake?"  
She blinked. "Those are hard questions, Raekal Gaidin. But I will do my best to answer them. I know not much about you personally. Very little, in fact. I know you lived in Shienar, and that you have killed more Shadowspawn than most other men alive. I know you have fought in several battles, and that your skill with a blade is close to untouchable. About Manetheren I know less. I know it was destroyed, I know it had powerful friends and powerful enemies. I know that it's blood is resurfacing today, and more and more people are like the old people of Manetheren. And yes, you truly are the heir of Manetheren . . . it has been foretold. There is no chance." She sat on the edge of her bed and gestured for him to sit too. "I have said all that I know."  
Sitting next to her, he looked at the ground. I just find it all very hard to follow, you know? I mean, look at this from my shoes. One day, you're walking down the road with nothing more to loose, and your only possession a sword. So you go to the Tower to become Gaidin, and the next thing you know, you have women . . ." he trailed off, his face flushing. "You have women telling you that you're the heir of a lost nation, and that if you don't want to be 'what you are' then you are dead." He sighed, hanging his head down between his hands. "I don't know what to do, what to believe."  
She put a hand on his back. "I understand, I truly do. That's how I felt, when I learned I could channel the One Power. I was a farmer's daughter, in Shienar, actually. We lived in the far south, almost Cairhein. And one day an Aes Sedai and her Warder came by and they talked to me and my father. I had to leave with them, leave my sisters, my father, and my brother. My mother was dead, she died giving birth to me, in fact. Everything in my world had just changed, and how was I to know how it was all going to turn out? So far though, I think I have made the best of it."  
He looked up at her. He had never thought that becoming Aes Sedai was something that a woman not might want to do . . . he thought all women wanted to be Aes Sedai. "I'm sorry, I'm just wasting your time," he said suddenly, feeling foolish. And what a fool he was! Here he was, pouring out his heart to a woman who probably thought he was weak, an imbecile.  
"Wasting my time? No Raekal Gaidin, you are actually saving me some time."  
"Don't call me that," he mumbled. "I'm no Gaidin."  
"You are too," she said, and poked him in the chest with a sly smile. "You are 'a man with a sword.' That is what a Gaidin is, that's what they are for."  
He barked a hoarse laugh. "I suppose." He looked at her. She was beautiful, with dark hair similar to his own hanging in curls, soft brown eyes that could swallow a man alive, and ivory skin that looked smooth to the touch. She returned his look for a moment, then a flush rose to her cheeks, and she looked away. He realized that he was close to drooling and swallowed hard. "I uh . . . you had something to ask me?"  
She laughed. "Oh yes. I almost forgot, even with the talk of saving me time." He looked at her quizzically. "I was going to come find you tomorrow to ask you officially, but . . . maybe I still will. Raekal . . . how do you feel about me?"  
He swallowed again. "I . . . feel about you?" he blinked. "I guess . . . you are a very nice woman . . . and amazingly beautiful." A flush rose to her cheeks again, and he knew that he had to be crimson to his hair. "And, um . . ."  
She laughed. "It's okay, I understand." He looked at her, struggling to re-swallow his heart, which had climbed up into his throat, at the same time that his stomach had dropped into his toes. "Raekal Gaidin, will you be my bonded?"  
He almost cried. He almost laughed. He almost jumped for joy. He didn't know what to think, but found himself nodding dumbly. "I will, Elayne Sedai."  
She smiled brightly, and threw her arms around him. He found himself staring eye to eye with her, their noses touching. "Good . . . I find myself fond of you," she said quietly, and opened her mouth to say something else, but before he knew what he was doing, his lips were on hers, a crushing kiss that melted everything him, turned it into a fluttering gooey substance that seemed to soak into him. She sagged against him until he broke the kiss, then giggled and laid her head on his chest. "I've wanted to do that since I saw you," she whispered. "I knew that you were the one."  
He smiled to himself. "And I you," he whispered, and realized at the same time that it was the truth. He had known that she was the one. She looked up at him.  
"I say we just bond now. We can tell the Amyrlin later." He smiled a little nervously.  
"Alright," he said quietly, and she took his head between her hands, and channeled. He shivered as he felt he weaves settle into him, the sacred weaves that bonded a Warder to his Aes Sedai. He blinked as the icy feeling vanished, and she was there, inside his head, a bundle of sensations that was her.  
Smiling, she kissed his cheek. "Now, my Warder, be gone. You must sleep tonight. Tomorrow the Amyrlin will undoubtedly call you again, as she will everyday until your two weeks are up, and tomorrow you will begin training as a Warder. However, do not go in to see the Amyrlin without me, okay?" he nodded, and she kissed his cheek again. "Good! Now, off with you."  
He stood and left almost in a stupor. He was bonded already . . . shaking his head to clear it, he headed back to his rooms. Before he got there, he felt her fade into sleep through the bond. 


	4. Chapter 4

When Raekal awoke the next morning, it was to find Ren standing at the foot of his bed, poking at the pile of clothes with a toe, holding the cloak in one hand. He arched his eyebrow at Raekal when he saw he was awake. "Go somewhere last night?" he asked with a small smile.  
Raekal nodded slowly, not sure whether or not he should tell him about Elayne and him. His lips still tingled softly at the memory. Her presence in his mind was alert. She was waiting for something, or waiting impatiently for someone. After a moment, the feeling faded. Whatever it was had finally come. "Yeah. Tried to, anyways."  
Ren smiled and nodded. "Well, get up now. You're already a little behind, you know." He tossed the clothes at him and talked idly as Raekal stood and dressed. Raekal had him efficiently tuned out, and once he was done, turned back to him.  
"Alright, we can go now." Ren lead the way out to the Grounds, and walked to the racks holding the fake swords, the lathes.  
"First off we shall learn the names of the forms," he said, gripping his lathe tightly and moving it through them. Raekal followed suit. He already knew everything that Ren was telling him, but the names were new. He had never learned the names of all of the forms, but knew what they were, knew the movements. He caught on quickly, and sparred against Ren, beating him easily. He sparred against three more men, and beat them all as well, their lathes never even reaching his body. They looked at him oddly as they limped away, rubbing bruises.  
Raekal shrugged at Ren, who had a rather large bruise on his side. "Sorry," he said quietly, and looked to where men ran rings around the grounds. "Do we run too?"  
It was the one area where Ren could finally beat him. He didn't have the endurance for running that Ren did, and when Korl finally showed up, he ran circles around the both of them. It seemed that the two men never quit running, while Raekal gasped and heaved for breath, his side burning. He could fight with his sword from sun-up to sun-down, but running was something else entirely.  
Feet burning, legs aching, Raekal was almost glad when a young man only a little younger than himself ran up and handed him a paper with Elayne's signature. He broke it open and read quickly, and almost wished he could go back to running. Almost. Ren jogged over, not even breathing hard yet. Raekal glared at him, and Ren smirked. "Summons?" he peered over his shoulder. "By Elayne Sedai? You must of made some impression, my friend."  
Raekal nodded, still unsure whether or not to tell them that he was already bonded to her. "Must of," he repeated softly, and turned and walked towards the Tower. "I'll be back soon. Run till I come back."  
He meant the last as a joke, but Ren shrugged and started running again. The fool. He would probably run until his feet fell off and his legs wore down to his knees. Raekal walked into the Tower and towards the Amyrlin's office. He met Elayne halfway there, and she offered him a bright smile. "Been running?"  
He shot a look at her. "How did . . . yeah," he said, as he realized that she would have felt his legs dying. "Too much, I think." She smiled again, and lead the way back up to the Amyrlin's office, and inside they stepped. The Amyrlin blinked to see Elayne with Raekal again, but one look at Elayne, and she nodded slowly.  
"I should of guessed that Elayne would swallow you up," she said with a soft smile, but if the remark got to Elayne, she didn't show it. "Have you thought about what has been said?" she asked Raekal.  
Raekal looked up at her. Light, his legs burned. He wanted to sit badly. "Yes. And I don't think my mind has changed much. And being threatened of death seems to have . . . deterred my mind from wanting to comply even more."  
She sighed, and muttered something under her breath. The Keeper gave a start. She must be able to hear, Raekal noticed. "Some things that I said yesterday should not have been said," she relented. "You will not be done away with if you do not become what you are. However, not being what you are will affect the Pattern. It might do away with you, if you choose not to do as it says." She looked at Elayne. "The Pattern puts us all where it wants us to be all the time. We cannot fight it. The Pattern has put you here to learn of what you are. It wants you to be the next heir of Manetheren."  
"Elayne says it was foretold." The Keeper shot a glare at the Green, and Elayne's alarm jumped in his mind. "I made her tell me. She did not offer it to me. The Three Oaths." He knew about those, enough anyways, to know that Aes Sedai must tell the truth. "Do not blame her, or you find me even more difficult to 'manage.'" In his head, he felt Elayne melt towards him.  
The Amyrlin nodded. "It was foretold, yes. It was foretold that the man who would bring Manetheren back would come to the Tower, on the day that you arrived, and that he would best the best, and that behind him would come Shadow." She bit off the last part, and looked at the ground.  
Raekal stood in silence for a while. "Tell me what I must do, then."  
The Keeper started, and the Amyrlin snapped her eyes up to his. "You will be what you are?"  
"If I am what I am, then how can I be what I am not? I must be what I am. It is the only path that the pattern will accept for me, I am sure." He looked to Elayne. "And I have some very good help."  
Suddenly, before anyone else could speak, the door crashed open, and in spilled two women in green shawls. Elayne took a step back, and Raekal did as well, though his hand went to the hilt of his borrowed sword and he wanted to spring in front of Elayne. The Keeper blinked at them, and the Amyrlin opened her mouth to demand information, but the first sister to tumble in raised a paper.  
"Shienar has fallen!" The words brought total and complete silence. Raekal really needed to sit now.  
"Shienar?" The Amyrlin gasped.  
"The Trollocs boiled through Tarwin's Gap in such great numbers that the army was shattered, and the cities fell within the day. The entire nation of Shienar is gone! No one lives, and the few that escaped have fled into Cairhein. But the Trollocs aren't focusing on Cairhein, mother . . . they're coming directly at Tar Valon! And the Trollocs are still coming through the Gap!"  
The Amyrlin reacted immediately. "Call the Guard, set watches on the walls twenty-four hours a day. Call the people inside the city, send word to Andor and Cairhein. And Saldeae. Ask them for aid, anything they can send. The rest of the Borderlands need to form up and retake Shienar, re- plug the Gap. Spread word through the Tower, pair Sisters with their Warders, they are not to be separated now." When no one moved, she looked at the two with fire in her eyes, and at the Keeper. "Go! Why do you wait?" As the three ran to do her bidding, she beckoned Elayne to come closer with Raekal. The door closed behind the Keeper. "This attack has to be about you. The Shadow must know that you are here." She looked between them. "There is Black Ajah in the Tower. I . . . I will announce this to the Hall. Perhaps it will scare them out, and we can fight them in the open."  
Elayne swallowed. She was Green, after all. The Battle Ajah. Raekal swallowed. "Anywhere you send Elayne I will go. You will send her nowhere without me. Please, mother." He wasn't sure why he had relented and used the honorific title, but he had and that was that.  
She looked between them. "Okay," she said after a moment. Elayne, don't leave his side. Ever. That is an order. Raekal, go to Archer . . . tell him I'm placing you in charge of the Tower Guards. And the Warders. In fact, I think you are my new Master at Arms." He blinked, gasped, and tried to find his breath.  
"What? Me? The new Master at Arms?" He couldn't believe his own ears.  
"On the condition that you will eventually be in command of an army, you need prior experience." The Amyrlin grinned at him, and Elayne grabbed his arm.  
"I . . . thank you, mother," he said softly.  
She nodded impatiently. "Yes, well, you'll do good, I'm sure. Now go tell him."  
Raekal lead the way out, and down the hall, and out of the Tower, still in a stupor. Elayne was still holding his arm, and when they found a deserted corridor, she pulled him to a stop and twisted him to look at her. He looked at her. "I'm Master at Arms," she said softly, and she nodded as she pulled his lips to hers.  
"You are a very sweet person. I am lucky to know you," she said breathlessly, and put her arm back through his and began walking again. "My Master at Arms," she whispered to herself, let out a very un-Aes Sedai-ish giggle. He smiled despite himself, and walked across the Grounds to where he saw Archer and Korl sparring in a ring.  
"Excuse me, Archer Gaidin." Archer turned and saw him. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Elayne. "I have a message."  
"Alright," Archer said uncertainly. "And I have your sword," he said, turning and pulling a new sheath out of a wrapped cloak. Gingerly he handed over the sword, and Raekal pulled the blade out. There was indeed a dark heron on the blade now, and the steel looked flawless. The new hilt seemed made just for his hand, and the sheath buckled easily onto his belt. He took off the loaned sword and set in back in a different rack.  
"Thank you very much," Raekal said earnestly. Now he just felt even worse about what he was going to say, and frowned deeply. "I . . . just came from speaking with the Amyrlin. She . . . she wants me to take over as Master at Arms for the time."  
Archer hid his surprise, but his eyes showed his hurt. "For the time?"  
"Yes. You see . . ." he quickly brought Korl and Archer up to date on what had happened. "The hall is being called to a meeting, and she is going to announce that there are Blacks in the Tower." His mind bounced. "There will probably be violence if she does such a thing. Fighting among the Warders. Darkfriends are everywhere."  
Archer nodded, and his eyes flashed dangerously. "Yes . . . everywhere."  
Raekal frowned. "Prepare yourselves, alright?" Archer and Korl nodded, and he spotted Ren jogging over. After filling him in, and even telling him about him and Elayne, he said, "Spread the word. There is going to be a fight soon, I think, and we need to be ready. Spread the word among those you can trust, okay? Those that you are positive would never serve the Shadow. Warning them will only lessen our chances of surviving."  
Ren nodded. "My blade is yours." He walked away, looking around the Grounds. Raekal slowly shook his head and looked to Elayne. She looked back. She felt nervous, scared. Unsure. It was impossible to tell what was bound to happen, now. Impossible to understand what would happen next.  
"I'm sure that Archer will be fine," she said softly, and he realized that he was worrying about how Archer would be. She rubbed his arm softly. "We should do something. Ride out to the walls, or something."  
He nodded slowly. "We should at that. Or maybe we should wait for the declaration to come down from the Hall. By the way, those two women, did you know them?" She shook her head slowly, and he shrugged. "Ah well. Nothing can be done now anyways."  
"Done?" she asked, confused.  
"What if they were lying? I mean . . . they never really did offer any proof, just stated that and then ran off with mother's orders. They could be Blacks themselves, for all we know, and this could all be a plot to break the Tower."  
Her worry spiked, and she said, "Do you really think that could be true? That the Amyrlin could be being fooled into doing what she is?"  
He thought about it for a second, and then shook his head. "No, probably not. And besides that, I will see to it that no man here takes so much as a step inside that Tower that wants to do the Amyrlin harm."  
She smiled. "Last night, if this had happened, you would have fought with those that wanted her stilled." She rubbed his arm again. "So much has happened in so short a time. I'm glad I have you with me. Honest."  
He felt heat rising to his cheeks at her compliment, but at that time, Ren came running into view, a full score of armed men behind him. Raekal stepped in front on Elayne protectively, and his hand shot to his sword hilt, and Ren skidded to a halt just before crashing into them. "Raekal Gaidin! There are Darkfriends in the Tower! Among the . . . among the Gaidin!"  
Raekal swallowed hard. Darkfriends were indeed everywhere. And he had just become Master at Arms. Some welcoming party. "Where?" Raekal asked.  
"Coming this way. A few have Aes Sedai with them, and they don't look like happy Aes Sedai." Ren looked back in the direction that he had come. "Archer . . . he leads them, Raekal. With Korl."  
Raekal wanted to swallow, but found himself unable to. "Archer?" he repeated hoarsely. Ren nodded. "I . . . never thought . . ."  
Elayne stepped up next to him, looking over the score of men. "How many men will come to fight against him?"  
Ren straightened. "Almost all, Elayne Sedai. But there are more than six Aes Sedai with them, and the Hall is meeting."  
Elayne jerked and looked up suddenly. "I think it is more than meeting, Ren Gaidin," she said softly, and windows shattered above. Fire leaped out of them. She winced. "Too much of the One Power for one room." She stared upwards for a few moments, and then winced again. "They are spreading out, more people are channeling. The Tower is divided, I fear. The Blacks have come out of hiding." At that moment, around sixty men charged them, screaming dark cries, swords raised. Raekal looked over, and saw the six Aes Sedai coming behind them, riding serenely on horseback. Elayne sneered at them, and Raekal felt her contempt slide through the bond. "Black sisters . . . and everyone weaker than I." He smiled. That was good news. The door blew open behind them, and more Greens spilled out, looking at the few men standing in front of the Tower entrance.  
"For the Light!!" Raekal roared, ripping out his sword. "For the White Tower!!" The men echoed his cries as they charged back, now unafraid of the six Black sisters, all thought lost as Raekal attacked.  
His blade whipped around, and men fell before him. Until he looked up to find himself face-to-face with Korl. The man sneered. "Heir of Manetheren, are you? The Great Lord shall see you dead by day's end!" He drove towards Raekal, but he turned the blade, loosing thought in the Void. The man staggered as Raekal laid open his side, and blood poured from the cut. "Nice try, scum," Korl coughed. Blood bubbled on his lips. Raekal stepped forwards, and silenced Korl forever, no matter what pain it caused himself. Just then Archer slammed into his side, carrying them both to the ground. Somewhere in the background he heard a woman screaming. Elayne.  
He rose without a thought, kicking Archer hard enough to keep him down for a moment, and turned to see Elayne standing over the body of one of the Warders, blood staining her side. She shook her head at him as he met her eyes, worry pouring through the bond. She fell back into the hands of another Aes Sedai, and he felt her pain fading as the other woman healed her. Nodding once, he turned back in time to meet Archer's slash.  
"You ruined it!" Archer howled, his blade wild and careless. "I was in the perfect position, the most perfect position to kill the Amyrlin! And you had to come along, heir, and ruin everything!" Raekal ducked under one slash and danced away from another. Archer screamed and launched himself at Raekal . . . and lost his left arm at the elbow to a sharp retaliation cut. He staggered back, then flung himself forwards again. Raekal's nimble blade danced about, keeping Archer's from his body until he drove his own home. As Archer fell, the life draining from his eyes, Raekal looked up to see Ren's blood-streaked face coming towards him. All around, the dead and wounded lay on the blood-covered ground. Right in front of the Tower. The rest of the Warders had come, and only just in time. There were few of the ones that Ren had brought with him.  
The six sisters lay unmoving on the ground, one smoking. A good ten warders lay in front of the stone-faced greens. Raekal looked at them, and then ran to Elayne's side. She was sitting against the wall, but okay. She looked up at him. "You're not hurt," she said in relief, and he shook his head.  
"No . . . nothing but my heart. I . . . I killed him, Elayne. Korl . . . and Archer. I killed them both." He hung his head down, his hair falling forward over his face. She lifted a hand and brushed it back, and lifted his chin so his eyes looked into her own.  
"If you had not killed them, they would have you." This was do or die, Raekal. Do or die." He nodded slowly. Her words made since, but they had seemed so . . . normal. So much like friends.  
"Is it over? The channeling in the Tower, I mean."  
She nodded wearily. It seems to all be over. And considering that we're here, there's a good chance that so is the Amyrlin." She smiled thinly at him, and touched his cheek with a hand. "I got three of them. Three of the sisters. But that warder . . . I thought he was one of ours until it was too late."  
Just as she finished speaking, a great many sisters came flowing out of the smashed doors, all following the Amyrlin, standing with her arms crossed. Her eyes picked apart the dead, and with a small shake of her head, she turned to face Raekal and Elayne. "Just as I feared. Archer was one of the many Darkfriends."  
Raekal nodded slowly. "He told me that he was in the perfect place to kill you. But I ruined it all."  
She nodded. "That you did. My plan worked well. I appreciate your help."  
Anger boiled his veins. She had used him after all. Elayne's eyes widened, and she laid a restraining hand on his shoulder. He could tell she was trying to send calm through the bond, but it melted away like ice in a firestorm. "You used me and these men and women to rid yourself of a few threats. You are a selfish, vile woman. And you call yourself the Amyrlin." He spat at her feet, and a few Greens looked ready to pounce. He ignored them. One's eyes suddenly widened, and then another, until all the Aes Sedai before him were staring at him like a madman. He stared back, his ices pale ice.  
As he took another step forward, the Amyrlin's eyes widened considerably as well. "You couldn't have cared whether we all lived or died, as long as your precious hide was safe!"  
"You're wrong. I care whether you lived or died. Every person that fell here though, had pledged their lives to fighting the Shadow. They died fulfilling those pledges." She took a step back as he took another forward, and suddenly shock rolled through the bond. He looked back at Elayne. She was staring at him the same way the others were. Light, not her too, he thought desperately.  
"How . . . how is this possible?" the Amyrlin murmured, and Raekal stopped.  
"What?"  
Elayne appeared at his side. "Raekal . . . you have enough of the power being used on you right now to crush the Tower! But it all just . . . vanishes . . . before it touches you." She ran her hands over him, as if to be sure that he was really there.  
His mouth had gone dry. So that's why they're all staring at me like I just declared the Great Lord of the Dark was the ruler of Tar Valon, he thought, with a shudder.  
"What are you wearing?" the Amyrlin demanded.  
"Wearing? Nothing . . . just . . ." the sword. He had always known that the sword was special. He had never realized just how special. He held out the sword. The Amyrlin grabbed it, and suddenly he flew back and crashed into the wall of the Tower. Elayne shrieked, and he suddenly fell. He groaned as he climbed to his feet, marched over, and snatched his sword back.  
"It is warded," the Amyrlin murmured. "I cannot see the wards though. That means . . . saidin." Everyone flinched, even Raekal, but his grip only tightened on the hilt.  
"It's my blade, and it shall remain in my possession!" he snapped, and the Amyrlin nodded. "As you . . . as you wish, Master at Arms." Suddenly she was regal and overpowering once more. "Clean up these bodies, man. And be quick about it. Then march out to the walls and start setting up the defense. Reportedly, the Trollocs will be here within the week. They are running themselves to death, it seems. And the Fades . . . the Fades are driving them harder than that. They want you, heir."  
Raekal blinked. That was too close to what Archer had called her, but before he could say a word, the Aes Sedai and Amyrlin vanished back inside. Elayne tugged at his sleeve. "Alone," she whispered, pointedly eyeing the men around them.  
"You heard the Amyrlin," he said tiredly. "Let's get this mess cleaned. I'll return in a moment." He followed Elayne to his rooms. They were closer. As soon as the door was closed, she kissed him roughly.  
"You are the luckiest man alive," she whispered. "Any other man would be ash by now, by orders of the Amyrlin. She respects you. She needs you." She rubbed his chest with the palms of her hands. "I need you too. Don't get yourself killed, eh?"  
He hugged her. "I promise . . . I shall do my best not to." He kissed her forehead. "I find myself in deeper every day, it seems. Every day, it gets more and more complicated. And every day, something new is thrown at me. Light! Two days ago, I was a beggar! Now I'm Master at Arms, the Amyrlin's . . . Amyrlin's something, blood and bloody ashes. Not to mention I've fallen for a woman . . . a stunning beautiful woman."  
She blushed, and he kissed her again. "You've fallen for me, eh?" she asked slyly.  
"Yeah . . . kind of."  
She smiled up at him. "I fell for you the moment you smiled at me." She snuggled up against his chest. "From that moment on I was all yours."  
"And I am all yours. Forever." He kissed her again, and didn't let her go until some time had passed. 


	5. Chapter 5

Andor and Cairhein both sent responses within the week. The Amyrlin came to Raekal both times, and both times he was in the same place, standing tall on his horse, near the gates leading to the city, watching as more men marched out, as more men poured out to the outer walls, to the bridges. And both times the news was grim at best.  
Cairhein would send no aid. They felt pressed just to hold their northern borders now, and were committing all troops to an attack at the Trollocs. While Raekal could not fault that move, and in fact supported it, he also knew that the absence of their men would be a blow to the numbers that would defend Tar Valon.  
Andor was slightly more positive, but the current queen's power was in question, and rallying the troops would take time, time that the White Tower did not have, but they would send what they could when they could, and likely enough it would be too small to matter. Raekal shook his head when he heard the news both times. But when news came from Saldaea and from the rest of the Borderlands, it was enough to make him smile. Already, their forces were mobilizing and moving as one against the Trollocs. The first battle had been a success. Given three weeks, they would recapture Shienar and close the Gap. Pleasant news, to be sure.  
Elayne never left Raekal's side, as the Amyrlin had ordered. Instead, she rode with him, no matter where his duties called. Other sisters that walked the Grounds were also trailed by their Warders, and the Guards flowed from the Bridges and back again, shifting watches. But always more and more men left the Tower grounds. Men on the streets went no where unarmed. Everyone knew what was coming, knew that Tar Valon was about to come under siege.  
Slowly, the traffic over the bridges dwindled, and finally halted. And the Trollocs arrived. Raekal rode as quickly as he could with Elayne as the horns blared. He ran to the top of the walls lined by archers and crossbow men all above the gates and stared. The horizon turned black slowly, yet surely. Hordes of Trollocs poured towards Tar Valon. Already the earth began to rumble and shake as they drew steadily nearer. The land was turned black with their numbers, and Raekal felt rather than saw the men's faces around him go pale. He clutched the wall to keep from falling over.  
Easily 100,000 Trollocs had come into view, and more were still pouring over the hills. In greater and greater numbers they swarmed towards the Shining Walls. Raekal swallowed harder and numbly felt Elayne clutching his arm. The Amyrlin Seat appeared at his other hand. He looked at her, and they shared a glance that spoke volumes.  
"The Light help us all," Raekal breathed, and shook his head. "At least they're all on this side of the river. Lower the guard on the other bank to skeletal forces. Bring everyman available to this side, all pikemen and archers." Men waiting for orders dashed away to do his bidding as the Trollocs' horns became audible, a distant braying that grew louder and louder by the second. "It is no wonder now that Shienar fell," he muttered silently to himself, and turned away. "Call all the men and sisters from the Tower. Set up a riverwatch. If they cross that river, I want to know before they come knocking on our gates!" He stalked down, back to his horse, Elayne trailing after.  
"The Dark One surely does not like you," she said softly. "To launch an attack with such force . . ."  
"Put yourself in his shoes. You have the heir of Manetheren, a stubborn country that would not die, in the very seat of the White Tower, perhaps the largest threat to your security. Why not attack? Kill the Tower and the heir at the same time." He shook his head. "With the grace of the Light, we shall survive. I don't know if we can win . . . but perhaps we can survive."  
"Of course we can survive," Elayne said softly, but it sounded more as if to convince herself.  
Raekal rode to the northern-most gate, and walked back up to the top, standing on the walls over the gate. "Here I shall fight," he declared, and slapped the walls. The men were all staring at the huge black horde. The ground was shaking, and the sound of the horns rent the air now. "Here I shall make my stand."  
A Warder walked up to him, stony-faced. He studied Raekal for a moment, and then suddenly knelt and bowed his head. "Tai' shar Manetheren!" Raekal blinked and looked down at the man, then at the Green sister at his side, but she merely knelt as well, and repeated what her warder had said. Within moments, everyone on the walls was kneeling, murmuring the words. And many that weren't on the walls were as well, he saw, slightly unnerved. He looked at Elayne, but she smiled, and knelt as well.  
"Tai' shar Manetheren," she said, and then whispered, "my Warder."  
"I . . ." Raekal found himself unable to speak, looking over the thousand men kneeling to him. All these men . . . honoring him . . . but for what?  
The Warder rose to his feet and clapped his shoulder. "My blade is yours. I follow you into death itself."  
And then that began, all the men walking by, clapping him on the shoulder, pledging their lives and their blades to him. Even the Aes Sedai clapped him on the shoulder, and pledged their lives to him. He was in shock, unable to comprehend what was going on. Once every man was done, the first man, that Warder, came back.  
"You have already raised Manetheren, now." He smiled grimly. "We are your first army." Raekal looked over all the men looking to him expectantly and slowly shook his head.  
"I . . . if you . . . I mean . . ." he didn't have time to deal with this. The Trollocs had reached the far shore now, but weren't stepping foot onto the bridges. Smoke began to rise from the villages on the far shore. At least all the people were safe inside Tar Valon's walls. "Ready for defense. Light bonfires in case they attack this night." He turned and looked to the other bridges. "I shall return shortly."  
The Warder nodded crisply. "It shall be done. Go in the Light."  
Raekal left in a hurry, and stared hard at Elayne as they rode back to the other bridge. "What did you do that for? You encouraged them!"  
She smiled slyly. "Because. You are now no longer a heir . . . no matter what the Dark One does here, he has already failed at his first task."  
His eyes narrowed, but he didn't speak his thoughts. So that the Dark One can smash Manetheren again? Don't any of these people understand? We can't win this fight! We're all going to die! He rode on in silence, until they reached the next bridge, where he shouted up his orders. He rode around the town, shouting up orders to all six of the bridges, then rode back to the center bridge on the north bank, where he had decided to make his stand. He stared out at the burning village sadly.  
For the rest of the day he stood on the wall, or lounged on it, and watched as the flames inched their way closer and closer to the bridge. At any moment, the Trollocs would be down destroying that village, and they would come in a flood at him. Swallowing hard, he looked at the men lined up, all eyes on the village. All were Tower trained archers, reliable and stalwart. The men lined up behind the gates below were stead-fast and sure, wielding long pikes and carrying heavy shields. Men with crossbows were lined up behind the kneeling pikemen. They were in a bowl around the heavy locked gates. The first Trollocs through would pile up quickly.  
Night began to fall. As far as the eye could see on the opposite bank, the ground was black with the masses of Trollocs. Men brought reports that some Trollocs had tried to cross the river, but had died in the process. Raekal merely nodded and watched, waiting.  
The attack came a lot slower than he had expected. A line moved onto the bridge suddenly, and ran forwards. They were leveled by a volley from the archers, and then nothing until darkness was covering everything.  
Clouds were out, covering the stars and the moon. It was pitch black, the only light that of the bonfires blazing. Suddenly, the Trollocs began to chant in their horrible guttural language. They chanted on and on until it seemed like nothing else in the world could make nearly as much noise as them alone. Archers nocked arrows and pikemen shifted nervously. The ground shook as they stomped and chanted.  
And then they came, the chanting ending and fading into wordless screams and roars. They ran at the gate, into the light. "Aim!!" Raekal bellowed, and every archer drew fletching to cheek and sighted at one of the hideous beasts. "Loose!!!"  
It seemed every shaft flew true, and scores of Trollocs toppled under the hail. "Fire at will!" Raekal shouted, and the ceaseless bombardment began. He watched at they fell off into the river, or were kicked off by others, or thrown off, and black blood began to make waterfalls flowing into the river. It began to seep under the gate as the Trollocs pounded and hacked at it with their sharp axes, and Fades twirled in the night, pushing them forwards, through the hail, at the gate. More than one was sent screaming into the river by the Trollocs that wanted to run. Those that tried were trampled to death by their own horde, however. Raekal shuddered and looked back. Crossbow men below were firing through gaps in the gates now, and more and more Trollocs were falling. A few arrows flew up at the walls, most bouncing off of the stone or flying over their heads. A few, however, struck targets.  
And then the Aes Sedai entered the battle. Fire raged across the bridges, scattering them before the deadly flames. Wind blew them over the edge into water suddenly spinning and crushing. Raekal grinned. At this rate, the highest danger was running out of arrows. But in answer to the Aes Sedai entering the fight, Dreadlords took the field.  
The gate shattered under powerful dark weaves, and the Aes Sedai shifted their attention to the many channelers in the horde. Raekal ran down to join the pikemen then, pulling free his blade. Elayne followed, as always.  
The Trollocs ran into waves of archer fire, and were shredded on the pikes. As Raekal had predicted, the dead piled up quickly, and Trollocs had to scramble up over their own dead to reach the humans in seconds. Those that ran into the lines though caused damage. Men fell under their heavy scythes.  
Above, the wall shuddered as lightning struck it and fore broiled on it's surface. "Retreat from the walls!! Retreat from the walls!!" Raekal yelled, and men came running down, some horribly wounded by the fire and lightning. Many were gone.  
And then it was done, as quickly as that. The Trollocs quit coming over the bridge, and the Dreadlords faded away into the night. Weary Aes Sedai killed off the few Trollocs left on the bridge, and Raekal himself walked over the mounds of dead to the bridge. It was covered in dead. Here and there a Fade still thrashed, unwilling to admit that it was dead quite yet. "A test," he cursed, and kicked a dead Trolloc. "They have the numbers to waste this many lives on a test."  
He walked back and climbed to the top of the walls. Several bodies littered the top, most of them torn by the Power itself. He cursed and looked down to the next bridge. From what he could see, and hear, the battle had ended everywhere at once.  
Elayne took his arm and hugged it to her. "This was a test?" she whispered.  
He nodded slowly. "What we have killed here is close to the numbers that invaded Shienar before. And yet they throw it at us like nothing . . . merely testing to see how easy it will be to break through." He cursed again. "I shall show them that I won't be so easy." He turned to his men. "Set up a watch, change it every four hours. The rest of you get some sleep while you can. Spread the word. Aes Sedai, if you would be so kind?" he pointed to the bodies, and they channeled briefly, sweeping the dead Trollocs into the river. "And my gate?"  
They nodded, and began to channel earth, reforming the gate as best they could. It would be enough. The gate was only meant to delay them for a time anyway.  
He walked away, Elayne following close behind. He entered one of the inns relatively close. The common room was already filled with men, but the mood was quiet and sober. Everyone was beginning to realize that the Tower's force of around 12,000 wouldn't be enough to win this battle. The numbers of Trollocs was rapidly approaching 200,000—despite the mass numbers that they had just killed.  
The innkeeper swept a bow, and Raekal ignored him, instead heading up the stairs, tossing a gold coin over his shoulder to the man. "For whoever I'm about to boot out," he said hoarsely, and walked into one room, took the bags off the bed, and dumped them outside by the door. He sat heavily on the bed as Elayne closed and locked the door.  
"Raekal . . . why are you so troubled?" she asked softly, her hands behind her back, her back against the door. Her gown was still clean, and clung to her sides softly. The flare over her hips drew his eyes first, and they trailed up to finally meet her eyes.  
"Troubled? Why shouldn't I be troubled? A few thousand men just swore their lives to me, not to mention Aes Sedai! My Aes Sedai bowed to me," he whispered the last, until he wasn't even sure if he had heard himself. "I want to be normal again, Elayne! I want to walk in the street and have no one look at me twice, to be just a man with a sword. Not a man with this sword." He threw his sword on the ground. The heron mark stared up at him, mocking him.  
She slid over in front of him and knelt on the ground, placing her hands on his knees. "But you never were that man, Raekal. You have always been destined to be great . . . to be the man who raised Manetheren, who defied the Shadow as it tried to take over your doorstep!" Her soft eyes bored into his own, and he looked away. "You are Raekal Dunshain! You are you! You are what you are, and there is no helping that. I am Elayne Mi'laise. I am who I am, an Aes Sedai, a Green sister."  
He looked at the wall for a moment, then heaved a sigh. "I am who I am," he whispered softly, and then locked eyes with her. Hers held the passion of self, the sympathy for him, and her love undying. He placed his hands on top of hers and slowly worked his fingers with hers, until they were entwined together. "Elayne . . . I love you as I have loved no other." There. He had said it at long last, laying his heart at her feet, at her mercy again. He did love her more than he had loved any other, and it scared him how in the few days that they had been together he had fallen so hard for her. He had fallen for her the first moment he had laid eyes on her. "You are my life."  
She smiled a little, and leaned forward, her hands squeezing his. "And you are mine. And I love you as no other. Forever." She kissed him softly then, and he lost himself in the moment, his world swirling around him.  
A few hours later, he woke slowly and looked up at the ceiling. The sky was beginning to lighten outside. It was time to be up. He stood, and for a moment admired Elayne's fine figure laying exposed, then pulled a blanket over her for a few moments while he dressed. Then he woke her with a kiss. "Time to be up and about," he whispered, and she stretched.  
"So soon? Ahh . . . I was having a good dream," she laughed, and stood, letting the blanket fall, and pulled her shift over her head. Once she was dressed, Raekal lead the way down into the common room. It was still full, but with different men, all eating cold plates of food. The innkeep hurriedly brought them food, and after eating silently, Raekal swept from the room. The streets were bustling with people moving deeper into town, away from the gates.  
He nodded slowly as he watched them moving. He grabbed the nearest soldier he could find. "Spread the word, get as many people as possible inside the inner walls. I want Tar Valon empty in an hour, man." The man nodded and ran off, already shouting. Raekal walked back to the gate and climbed up to the top. And stared.  
The hordes were still there, but so were catapults lined up along the opposite bank as far as the wall stretched. Just out of bowshot. "Get anti- seige units up immediately!!" he barked, and men scattered to do just that. He shook his head slowly. They were not going to hold the wall for the day.  
  
Within the hour, there were catapults of his own lined up inside the walls, and houses were smashed with the One Power to provide masonry to fling at the Trollocs. Aes Sedai lined the walls with the archers, Warders grim at their sides, ready to die. Everyone was ready to die. Death was coming . . . it was in the air.  
Raekal stood and watched as the Trollocs seemed to mill about. Then the chanting began again, and the stamping. He turned, and looked to the Warder running the catapults. He nodded. The Warders began to shout at the men up on the walls that would be sighting for them, and they shouted back with directions. The ground rumbled and the air was full of the chanting. Raekal unsheathed his sword and raised it. The silver sheen was visible below. It dropped, and hell broke loose. 


	6. Chapter 6

The silver sword lowered almost infinitely slowly. The ground's rumbling seemed to slow, and the chanting seemed to be underwater, thick and boiling. The Warder shouted his command, and levers were pulled in a flash. Snaps and whirring filled the air behind the walls. Masonry flew through the air, cleared the walls, sailed across the river, and smashed into Trollocs on the opposite banks. One or two smashed into the Trolloc catapults, and they fell apart under the heavy stones.  
Already men were shouting corrections and new directions down to the crews operating the catapults. As they reloaded, men made adjustments to the aim. Trolloc counter-fire smashed into the walls, making them shudder violently. In one or two places, the stones scraped across the top of the walls, throwing men off before their bulk before they smashed into buildings on the other side. The men already were returning fire as the archers drew fletching to ear and picked targets among the hordes sweeping towards them. The Power flared up on both sides, but the Aes Sedai outnumbered the Dreadlords; however, they could not find the Dreadlords among the masses. Raekal turned to one of the men there. "As soon as casualties get too heavy up here, get off the walls, you hear me? I'll need archer support below!"  
With that, Elayne followed him down below to where the gate was shuddering under the Trolloc axes. Within only seconds, it shattered under the strain, and Trollocs poured through into the humans.  
Pikemen slaughtered them by the dozens, and the rain of arrows only increased as archers turned to kill the Trollocs inside the walls. Raekal waded into battle himself, standing with the pikemen, protecting them from those few Trollocs that punched in too deeply.  
He swept through forms, and his sword clove a black-mailed Trolloc from navel to jaw. He buried it in another's heart, and gave it a twist for good measure. All around him, men were fighting and screaming, their weapons of steel ripping the Trollocs apart.  
He fought until time itself seemed to fade into nothing, and still Trollocs came. The archers had abandoned the walls. The wall was crumbling in places due to the Trolloc catapults. As fast as the guards smashed them, they brought up more, and their lethal rain continued to pour down.  
He began to realize that more men were falling. He was fighting more and more Trollocs. There weren't as many pikemen as there had been, and bodies lay intermized in the dead now. He looked up to see an Aes Sedai loose her head and topple into the horde of Trollocs. Another grunted as a hole was burned through her chest and slowly sank to the ground. Elayne stood somewhere behind him. Lightnings of her make flashed all around him, striking Trollocs dead everywhere.  
Then Raekal found a Fade before him. "Carai an Caldazar!" Raekal shouted, and launched himself at the Fade. For the honor of the red eagle . . . he realized that he had spoken the Old Tongue and blinked, hesitating. And nearly lost his life. The Fade's black blade swung at his head, Raekal barely bent back enough under it, the air from the blade's passing skinning his nose. His breath caught. That had been close. He stood back straight and staggered as the Fade punched him in the gut. He fell backwards, tripping over a man's body, and raised his blade just in time to catch the black blade.  
There was a crash like thunder, and then Raekal was on his feet, his blade whipping at the Fade, dancing with death. The Fade staggered backwards, now desperately trying to defend himself. Raekal would have none of it. His blade cut through the neck of the Fade, decapitating the Shadowspawn, and it's body thrashed as it fell into a pile of dead Trollocs. But still it thrashed, unable to admit that it was dead.  
Raekal looked around. A few men were trying to stem the flood of Trollocs. Not many were left. A horse with a bloody rider came thundering up. "My lord!" the man shouted, when he saw Raekal. "The Trollocs have punched through to either side! Retreat, my lord!"  
He spun his horse and was gone. Raekal cursed and looked up to the wall. "Fall back!!!" he roared at the top of his lungs. "Fall back!! Everyone, fall back!!" He refused to say retreat. He was not retreating, not yet.  
A Trolloc rose up in front of him and fell almost instantly, its head rolling on the bloody ground. The catapults were abandoned as the men ran from them, unsheathing swords to fight with. The archers broke into a full run back towards the inner walls. Elayne appeared at his side, with a compliment of a few hundred men, all armed and bloody. "Close up! Around the Aes Sedai!" he yelled to the men. A few archers joined with them instead of running on their own. Seven more Aes Sedai were with Elayne, all weary-looking.  
"The Dreadlords should be dealt with," one told Raekal, and he merely nodded, shouting again for the men to close up. They formed a rough circle with the Aes Sedai and archers in the middle as the Trollocs poured around them.  
"Make for the walls," Raekal ordered, and the circle began to move slowly, Trollocs throwing themselves at the men. They were completely surrounded, Fades and Trollocs swirling around them, the horde pouring inside Tar Valon through the three defeated gates. Raekal fought with the men again, his blade joining the rest of the defenders as they made their way slowly back. Again time faded into nothing as they fought. The Aes Sedai used the Power until they collapsed, and then men carried them, usually their Warders, if they were left alive. Elayne staggered along, occasionally throwing fire at the Trollocs.  
Raekal found himself fighting another Fade, and cut that one in half at the waist. Men cheered as a few Trollocs fell with it, but not nearly enough. Not even close. He fought until he could think of nothing but the Trollocs coming at him, their blades starting to get through. More and more men fell. They would be overrun soon if they did not reach the walls. Raekal turned too late to avoid a scythe sword of one Trolloc, and his cheek was laid open. Pain poured into the Void, but he ignored it. It was someone else's pain. He continued to fight, continued to push the shrinking circle towards the walls.  
Finally, he fell back inside the circle to Elayne's side. She was stumbling along, and winced when she saw the bloody gash across his cheek. He brushed her hands off of him and raised his sword. "No Power . . . remember?" She nodded slowly, and sagged against his supporting his arm.  
"We're not going to make it," she whispered.  
"We will!" Raekal replied vehemently. "We will make it, and then we will teach these Trollocs to invade Tar Valon."  
She looked up at him. She was crying. Her cheeks were dirty, and the tears washed away clear little channels down her cheeks. "We're going to die, Raekal," she whispered, and all he could do was shake his head.  
"No . . . not yet," he finally managed, and at that moment, they came in sight of the walls. They began to cross Trollocs that had fallen to the archers on the walls, and the archers with them hastily ripped free arrows and began to fire again. They had long since run out, but now, with more ammunition, hope began to rise again. Raekal waved his bloody sword at the walls. Flights of arrows flew around them, almost tracing the circle. A little opening appeared, and the men heaved huge breaths as the gates crashed open. Trollocs tried to flow inside, but met flights of arrows and were leveled. More took their places, and Raekal pointed his sword. "Charge!!!" he screamed, and the men reacted.  
They roared and flowed at the Trollocs that were now effectively pinned in the gates. Archers from above raked the Trollocs with more organized flights, keeping more back. And then the gates closed, and Raekal and the few men left with him were safe.  
They all collapsed almost instantly. It was relatively quiet with the gates closed, much more so that it was with a horde of Trollocs surrounding and attacking you. Raekal looked up at the Warder that had first sworn allegiance to him and shook his head. "You are the luckiest man I have ever met," the Warder said, with a shake of his head. "To survive that."  
Ren suddenly ran up. Raekal had almost forgotten about him, in light of everything else that had been happening. Ren winced when he saw the gash across Raekal's cheek, but had one very similar across his forearm. "Raekal! Light, I thought you hadn't made it back!"  
Raekal grinned weakly. He seemed to lack the energy to even raise his sword again. Elayne's eyes were closed, and she was sagged against his side. The only reason he was even sitting upright was the wall behind him. "No . . . still alive," he managed hoarsely.  
Ren smiled. "That's good, man." He clapped him on the shoulder. Raekal blinked. He couldn't even think properly. "The Aes Sedai are all being looked after. You saved a good many of them."  
With a start, Raekal saw twenty or thirty where he had only had seven before. More must have joined as he was fighting. Warders were with most. A few were bleeding badly, but as fresh Aes Sedai came around, they insisted on the Aes Sedai getting the attention first. Raekal looked at Elayne. All she needed was rest. Real rest. He touched the gash on his cheek. It wasn't really that bad, he decided, and pushed himself to his feet. "Help me . . . help me get Elayne to a bed."  
Ren nodded, and picked Elayne up easily. Raekal staggered towards where severl cots were laid out, and went to an empty one. Ren laid her easily on it, and Raekal sat heavily with his back against the cot's legs.  
Ren dropped down next to him. "The Trollocs are looting and burning the city. Several people seem to think that the battle is done for today. Myself, I don't know . . . those Trollocs seemed pretty determined to get through those gates."  
Raekal nodded wearily. "There were at that. I know we killed hundreds. Thousands. Just at the one gate. And we killed a good many coming back."  
Ren smiled. "You did at that. A path from here to there, I bet."  
Raekal couldn't help but grin too. "Yes . . . a path." He barked a laugh. "Too many men have fallen to hold the inner walls, I fear."  
Ren sobered quickly. "We've only lost three or four thousand."  
"Which only leaves eight or nine to defend," Raekal pointed out. "While we may have killed well over 50,000 of them, they have the numbers. We do not. It is a matter of time." He shook his head slowly.  
Ren jerked. "That is why we lost today."  
Raekal looked at him. "Of course it is! We were bloody outnumbered!"  
Ren shook his head. "No, because you will not look at the bright side. You think only about what bad has happened. About what did not go the way it was supposed to. The opposite of how you're supposed to think." He shifted to look at Raekal better. "Manetheren held out on the banks of that river for how long while outnumbered? They held out in the hope that help was on it's way."  
"They held for nothing," Raekal pointed out again. "They fell in the end. They lost."  
"They held because they would not stand aside and watch the Shadow rule. If you will do the same, the Trollocs would not stand nearly as good a chance. Right now they have us where they want us. Severely outnumbered, surrounded, and the leader demoralized. All of us are down. No one can see the hope anymore. But how did you fight your way here? You fought because you really did fight. Men were awed by you, they had hope. But for you to lose that hope now is to cast away the men that fell!"  
Raekal looked away, although he knew that Ren was right. "Ren . . . men swore their lives to me. To me . . . because they all think that I am going to raise Manetheren."  
"Not think—they know. They know because you have, Raekal! You rose Manetheren the moment that first man knelt to you and swore that his life was yours. Manetheren is born again. It lived in you, but it had been born again into the world."  
Raekal swallowed hard. "I don't want to lead a nation. I . . . I don't know how, Ren. I can't do it. These people all think that I am someone I am not."  
"The gate that you were at held longest, did it not?" Ren asked. After Raekal nodded, he added, "That was because the people there fought for more than the Tower. They fought for you. Make everyone fight for you. Make everyone hear remember Manetheren, my friend, and you shall see the true heart of men."  
Raekal blinked. "You think?"  
Ren nodded, a small smile lighting his face. "I know, my friend. Make us remember. Make us remember who we fight for. What we fight for."  
Raekal nodded slowly, and rose slowly. An Aes Sedai appeared at his side in a flash. She bowed her head to him. To him! And spoke softly. "Milord . . . I offer you my thanks. You saved me from near death." She looked him in the eyes. "You are truly the heir." She looked at his gash. "May I?" she asked, and he looked at Ren, then handed him his sword and nodded.  
She took his head between his hands and he gasped at the icy chill that sank into him, and felt his cheek knit itself back together. Right before it was done—it seemed to take hours, when in truth it was a couple of seconds—he pulled away, leaving a definite red welt and line. "It will still scar," the Aes Sedai said worriedly.  
He nodded. "I know. And I thank you." He bowed his head to her, and walked to where a bowl of clean water waited. He wet a rag and washed his face and hands. The water turned brown. The Aes Sedai channeled, and somehow cleansed the water again, and he smiled his thanks as he took a new cloth and wet it. He walked back to Elayne and washed her face and wiped the dried blood from his sword before tossing aside the rag. The Aes Sedai washed away some of Elayne's weariness at Raekal's request, and she rose unsteadily.  
He looked her in the eyes. "Come with me." Was all he said, but she nodded and touched his arm softly. He lead her and Ren back to the walls and walked up to where he stood above the gates. Outside was a mass of death. Trollocs and men alike were sprawled everywhere. He shook his head and turned back to address the rest of his army. Ren whispered something to Elayne, and she nodded. When he spoke, his voice carried across the Grounds, startling everyone into listening.  
"I am Raekal Dunshain. I am the Master at Arms of the White Tower, and I am the heir of Manetheren, for those of you that did not know. We fought well today. Very well. For ordinary men. But we are not ordinary men!" he shouted the last, and people were gathering, staring up at him. Those on the walls crept off of them, to join the rest on the ground. Only Ren and Elayne remained with him.  
"Many of you have already sworn your lives to me. To Manetheren. I ask that the rest of you swear the same. We no longer fight for just the White Tower, oh no. Much, much more is now at stake. Once the nation of Manetheren earned the nickname of a thorn to the Dark One. Let it be so again! If we defeat this army . . . this rabble that he has thrown at us, we shall have dealt a decisive blow to the Dark One!" He raised his sword slowly. "I fought by your side all this day. Now I ask you to fight at mine. We will defeat this army. We will save the White Tower, and we will successfully raise the nation of Manetheren!"  
People cheered. They actually cheered. Even Aes Sedai forgot themselves enough to clap or let out a whoop. Raekal smiled grimly, and up the stairs suddenly the Amyrlin came running. "Raekal!" she called out, and he saw a bundle in her arms. "Catch!" she said, and tossed it to him.  
He reached out and caught one corner of it in one hand, and a sudden gust of wind caught the cloth and billowed it out. It was a light blue, and in the center was a red eagle. He raised it high above his head, the wind catching it and snapping it.  
"Hail Raekal, heir of Manetheren!" the call rose from somewhere below, and behind him, Ren and Elayne knelt, hands at their sides, heads bowed. Everyone followed suit. Everyone bowed to him. Even the Amyrlin dropped to her knees and bowed her head. "Raekal! Manetheren! Raekal! Manetheren! Raekal! Manetheren!" the cheer rose.  
Raekal smiled again. He was the king of Manetheren. Manetheren had rose. And it would be feared. Slowly, people began to rise, and the cheer faded away. He raised his hand for one more thing to say. "Rest for the day. Prepare for battle again tonight."  
The people began to disperse, talking excitedly. The air seemed to hum instead of being a sober quiet. Raekal walked to the Amyrlin. "You never told me your name."  
She smiled. "Alys," she said.  
He nodded. "Alys . . . easier to say than Amyrlin, isn't it?" She laughed, and he continued, "Alys, I need you to send word to Andor again for me. Tell them to send everyone that they can right now. I care not for numbers, just send whatever. And then send word to the forces in Shienar. Tell them that once they plug the Gap again to try to rebuild what they can. I'm sure they would anyway, but tell them that I'll be coming that way once these Trollocs are dealt with." She nodded. Obviously not used to taking orders, but she nodded and walked away to do as he had asked.  
Raekal turned to Ren and Elayne. "Ren . . . thank you."  
Ren appeared as if he would like to blush, but said nothing, only nodded.  
He offered Elayne his arm, and she took it. "If you would excuse us," he said, with a sly smile that was reflected back at him. "This Aes Sedai needs to get some sleep."  
Ren laughed. "I'll look after things for you. No worries."  
Raekal lead Elayne back into the Tower, and up to her old rooms. As soon as the door was closed, she sagged onto the bed, pulling him down to sit next to her. "You are by far the most cocky, arrogant man I know," she said, with a mischievous light in her eyes.  
"Me?" he asked, with a small smile.  
"Yes you! You expect everyone to do as you say now."  
Raekal arched an eyebrow at her. "Not everyone," he said, sliding a hand across her stomach and to her side. "Just some people." He tickled her soft spot on her side and she curled up around his arm laughing.  
"Light help me . . . I must be insane." She laughed again, trying to pull his arm away from her side.  
"Why is that?" he asked, falling backwards across her lap.  
"Because you wool-headed mule . . . I must be insane for falling so hard for you." She smiled at him, a smile that he returned as she leaned over and kissed him softly. "Or maybe that's your fault."  
He grinned slyly. "You never know." Twisting around, he pinned her down, and continued to tickle her for some time. 


End file.
